A turn-of-the-century commercial building in downtown Billings, Mont., has been brought back to life as the site of a new 10,000-square-foot retail space of Kibler & Kirch, an interior design firm and retailer.
This was not a light renovation, but a massive undertaking by owner Jeremiah Young, whose vision for what is known as the Stapleton Building included recreating the dramatic grand staircase from original architectural plans – “I am always nerdy for a challenge” – bringing in natural light with dozens of new oversized double-hung windows, and thousands of feet of custom historical reproduction moldings, shelving and light fixtures.
Young bought the 35-year-old business in 2010, when both the interior design business and retail store were based in Red Lodge, Mont. Soon after, he purchased the Stapleton fixer upper in Billings, with an eye on restoring it. He later moved the interior design business to the second floor. In 2020, he shuttered the 5,000-square-foot Red Lodge retail business as plans for a larger retail space in the Stapleton began.
The building was “the finest commercial building in Montana when it was built in 1904,” Young said, who opened the new store last October. “We have recreated that era here architecturally, starting from an abandoned and completely stripped space.”
The new building had a few criteria to meet. It needed to “be a place where potential design clients can get a sense of what we stand for as a firm — the breadth of our capability and certainly the kind of attention to detail, thoughtfulness and quality of everything we do,” he said. In addition, “a store needs to reward customers for coming back again and again and again.”
“We want people to come in, sit in a chair, feel the texture of the fabrics and see the craftsmanship that goes into every piece,” Young said. “It’s about creating a personal connection with the items you bring into your home.”
With its authentic Western spin, the store showcases hundreds of vendors in “all the categories you need to make a complete home,” including furniture, décor, artisanal treasures, found objects and art. Vendors include Hickory Chair, Wesley Hall, Lee Industries and Artitalia. “Having a large store means we can show more of what we love.”
For designers thinking about opening their own store, Young advises to be brave and bold, “but patient enough to let it happen at the right time. Don’t dumb down your price point, and stand by what you believe in. I was determined to show our sensibility and not pull any punches so that we can use the store as a starting point or resource for our design projects as well as creating a special home shopping experience for visitors.”
